Sunshine and Shadows
by Celtic Ember
Summary: When Ron is killed in the final battle, Hermione must face what she has lost. When news comes that all may not be as it seems, choices must be made. Will the cost be worth it? Or will it all be for nothing? COMPLETE
1. Goodbye

A/N- Ok, I know I still have to post on Dreams Of Memories, and Search For Laurel. At the moment, I'm cleaning all my previous fic up and writing this one. It will be my highest body count to date. Character death, non- explicit smut and adult topics are discussed here. You have been warned - this is rated R for a reason.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Are you sure, love?" Ron asked her as he held her close. The final battle was to take place in only a few days, and both knew that there was a chance they may not escape unscathed.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. If we die, I want to know that I did all I could to live. Make love to me, Ron." Hermione's voice was quiet, but certain. Lovingly, she drew him down to her.  
  
Ron moaned, trying desperately not to rampage into her. He'd wanted her for so long, loved her for so long, that it was hard not to just take. But he knew that this time, the first time, he needed to be cautious. He lowered himself onto her, and both were quickly consumed by life's greatest act.  
  
* The battle raged on all around them. Harry was up front, battling his way towards Voldemort. Ginny had been bitten earlier in the action and was already up in the hospital wing of the castle, battling for life against the venom working its way through her system. Ron and Hermione fought back to back, and both flat out refused to leave the other even as they defended their friend. Hermione's face was blood streaked, and Ron was covered in burns, but neither was willing to leave the field.  
  
Bodies littered the ground like so much refuse, making the task even grimmer as they fought for survival. Slowly, the Death Eater forces were being overwhelmed. The toll was higher then any of them had hoped to pay.  
  
Ron stumbled slightly as he twisted away from a curse. Hermione looked up in alarm as he fell, and was at his side helping him up before anyone noticed him go down. He stood with her, breathing heavily and obviously trying not to let pain show.  
  
"What happened?" she asked him desperately, shooting off curses to cover them as she tried to lead him off the battlefield.  
  
"Nothing, I'm fine," he said as he shook it off. His father. His dad, laying next to Percy on the ground. It hurt so much that he didn't even notice the shooting pain travelling up his leg. Not like it would have mattered, anyway. Ron knew he had to struggle back up. They couldn't leave Harry undefended when there was so much carnage. Fighting off the nausea, he allowed Hermione to pull him back into the fray. They were just in time, and Harry was finishing off Voldemort with a final curse even as they re- entered the battle. With a final scream of despair, Voldemort's essence was banished into limbo and his body became ash on the ground. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand, and tried to pull him over to Harry, to celebrate and take their exhausted friend up to the hospital wing. Ron was a pale and sickly green, and Hermione had a moment of sickening recognition to figure out what had happened before he fell to the ground. He was still breathing weakly, but it came in shallow, frequent gasps. Ginny had felt the bite, and they were still probably too late to save her.  
  
Ron would never know that pumping his own anti venom into his sister had saved her life, because it would cost him his own.  
  
As Hermione held him, his breath became slower, and his heart rate became irregular. She could see the life fade slowly from him, and it was cold comfort to know that Voldemort would not be able to absorb his life force. As her tears rained on him and her desperate pleas flooded his ears, he could think of only one thing.  
  
"I love you, Hermione."  
  
Hermione sat on the ground, cradling his body as night fell. She cried to the fates for taking him away from her, she cried to the goddess for forcing him to leave, she cried to the god she was raised with in her muggle childhood, and they were all deaf to her pleas. When Harry, Bill, and Charlie found her, she was still crying, and Ron was cold to the touch.  
  
Harry, exhausted beyond measure and horrified at the sight in front of him, tried to pick Hermione up. He didn't have the strength left to carry his petite best friend- Ron had always done that. Charlie had one arm in a sling, so Bill carefully pried the girl from his baby brother's corpse. He lifted her into his arms, and carried her away from the field of destruction. Hermione was too overwrought to put up an effective fight, and tears had been running so long her cheeks had become raw. Charlie marked the spot with Ron's wand after casting a containment spell on it, and the four of them made their way back into Hogwarts Castle.  
  
Harry became lost in memories of his schooldays during the trek back into the school. If he hung back a bit, he could almost believe that it was Ron carrying Hermione, as he loved to do.  
  
* "Hermione, I think we've done ENOUGH revision for today," Ron complained exasperatedly. "I know the NEWTS are important, but they aren't for another month!" He didn't have much hope in getting her to shorten the study period, though, when he had already convinced her to let them take their books outside.  
  
The only answer he got from his complaint was a bit of a grunt and an unladylike snore.  
  
"Hey, Harry, look at this instead of my sister, will you?" Ron was still a bit tetchy with the idea of his best mate dating his little sister, and so the comment had a bit of a barb to it.  
  
Harry glanced, and had to smother a laugh. Hermione, Head Girl and resident slave driver, had fallen asleep in the grass, her latest text acting as her pillow. He looked up at the sky, and what had begun as a beautiful spring day was quickly becoming nasty.  
  
"Seems a shame to wake her," Ron said with a bit of a blush.  
  
"It's OK, I'll just levitate her up to the dorms." Ginny, as always, had an answer ready.  
  
"NO! I mean, um, she's afraid of. um..heights. She can't be levitated. I'll carry her." Ron's ears were turning an interesting shade of red as he reasoned everything out.  
  
Harry and Ginny were fighting back smiles.  
  
"You two will have to carry her books, though. I can't do that," Ron said with a smirk of his own. With their arms full of books, they couldn't hold hands or do any of the other stupid little things they liked to do to piss him off.  
  
"Oh, no need, Ron. Professor Flitwick's been teaching the Translocation charm in class, and I think I've got it down. See? Oicca textbooks." The textbooks disappeared, and Ron was torn between his little sister's brilliance and the death of his plan. "We'll see if they're where they should be when we get up there," he said, annoyed.  
  
"We'll all be soaked unless we go now. C'mon. Last one in gets to handle Filtch!" Ginny shouted mischievously.  
  
Ron scooped up the sleeping Hermione, and carried her into the school.  
  
*  
  
"We need to get her upstairs to a dorm. Are any open?" Bill asked quietly. Hermione had fallen into an exhausted sleep in his arms, and the last thing any of them wanted to do was wake her up. Sleep, at least, could numb the pain for a while.  
  
Bill wasn't sure why he felt so protective. Probably, he thought, it was because she was a link to Ron, and since he would never see Ron again, he felt a need to keep her near. Or maybe it was because he saw her as another baby sister to cherish and tease, he didn't know. All he knew was that it was crucially important to find her a quiet space to sleep and mourn in private.  
  
He looked at Harry as he tapped a knot at the base of the girl's Gryffindor dorms. He turned, and carried Hermione up the stairs to her old room. Harry was too tired to figure out why, exactly, this didn't feel right. Then he smiled. Bill had found the knot to turn off the Klaxon that sounded when boys tried to get up the stairs. He and Ron had.  
  
A fresh wave of pain assaulted him. He and Ron and found it by accident one day, and Ron had threatened him with bodily harm if he ever used it to visit his sister. Judging from the dexterity that Bill managed it with a girl in his arms, Harry and Ron weren't the only ones to use it. Ron had never told Harry exactly what he got up to on the occasions a cloak was borrowed, and Harry hadn't asked. Now he almost wished he had- that conversation would have been a memory to cherish.  
  
Bill carried his baby brother's fiancé up the stairs, wishing like hell that he had noticed Ron go down. Hermione may have escaped into sleep for now, but when she woke she would have to face Ron's death all over again. He was preparing himself for the blow when she woke up enough to look at him.  
  
"Ron. I knew you couldn't be dead," she whispered quietly as she drifted off again.  
  
"Hold me. Don't ever let me go." Bill could only do as she asked, feeling like the worst kind of cad. Both Harry and Charlie nodded at him, and Harry looked at her finally peaceful form.  
  
"She shouldn't be alone. I can stay with her, if you want." Bill just shook his head. "She saw me and thought I was Ron. I can't leave her, Harry."  
  
"Be careful. When she wakes up, you'll want to have a shield up," Harry advised, too tired to argue.  
  
Bill nodded, his exhaustion taking over. As Harry and Charlie left the room, Bill nodded off as well. Sleep was the only escape from the horrific happenings of the day.  
  
*  
  
The sun shone into the windows, its brightness a vulgar insult to the suffering being endured inside. Bill woke slowly, his arm having gone numb from cradling Hermione. She was no longer beside him, and he felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment as he realised that she had gotten up. The adjoining bathroom was still steamy, telling him that he'd slept heavier then he'd thought. He still felt drained and wrung out. He hauled himself out of the bed, and could not believe that even though almost half his family had been wiped out, the sun was still shining. It was obscene.  
  
He grabbed a fast shower himself, and then transfigured himself some clean clothes. When he got down to the common room, he found Harry and Hermione huddled together in the corner, and Ginny not sitting far from them as she lay bundled on the couch.  
  
Hermione appeared to have stopped weeping, though her eyes were still red and puffy. Her usually rosy cheeks were still pale white, and Harry was holding her as she said nothing. Ginny was looking better, if no less upset. Her eyes were turning brown instead of the horrid lurid green of the venom stricken. It looked as though the baby of family would make it.  
  
Bill left them like that, and went to go find his mother and remaining brothers. He hadn't seen Fred or George since the battle started, and he hated the idea that either or both of his joker brothers would have suffered as well. There was already too much death in the family.  
  
He found his mother, and pulled her close as she cried for Ron, for Percy, and most of all for Arthur. It didn't seem to matter to her that when Percy had died he had been wearing a Dark Mark. He was still her son, and he was still forever beyond her reach. Her husband, her anchor through these troubled times being gone at the same time was almost too much for her to bear. And Ron, always so strong was wiped away too. Bill arrived just in time to help Charlie catch their mother as she fell. They tucked her into bed, and Fred and George both emerged from the adjoining room.  
  
"She out for the count?" Fred asked, his eyes red.  
  
"I think so. It's all too much." Charlie murmured.  
  
"How did Blaze fair?" George asked his elder brother suddenly, as if just noticing his older brother's wife was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"I don't know yet." Charlie said shortly.  
  
"Angelina's gone." Fred said quietly, his own eyes still full of pain.  
  
Bill shook his head. It wasn't fair. First Fleur and her parents were slaughtered when she had gone home for a visit. Now Angelina, whom he knew Fred had planned on proposing to, and perhaps Blaze as well.  
  
"I guess the Weasley good luck finally wore off, huh?" George said bitterly. "I'm off to check on the kids."  
  
Bill, Fred and Charlie watched him go. George needed to know that Harry, Ginny and Hermione were at least alive, if not whole.  
  
At that moment, Molly started to scream in her sleep. Charlie went to tend her, and Bill gathered Fred up into a hug like neither of them had shared since they were children. Coolness, what was 'correct' didn't matter any more. Only comfort.  
  
They would be forced to move on, to get on with their lives. None of them wanted to think of that yet. 


	2. Returning

A/N- I lowered the rating, so this should be safe for most. Be warned, though, that it is still a very STRONG PG-13, much like most of my other stories. (You can find most of them at www.sphereofsilence.net , and yes, that is a plug.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Three Months Later  
  
Bill wiped the sweat off his forehead. Egypt was as far as England as he could make it, and that suited him just fine. After the funerals, he kissed his mother and sister goodbye, hugged his brothers (Harry included) and took off as far and fast as he could.  
  
England wasn't anywhere he wanted to be. Hermione had been hiding, but she had come out to say goodbye before he Apparated. For some reason, that was the goodbye that stuck in his mind.  
  
* "Bill. Wait for a moment." Hermione stood at the bottom landing, her hair tied back and her face thinner then it normally was.  
  
He had turned, and remembered feeling vaguely surprised that she had surfaced to see him off.  
  
"Just three things. Then I'll leave you to go back to your Pyramids, OK?" She looked anxious, and he agreed more out of curiosity then anything else.  
  
"First, is thank-you. I don't know if I would have made it through that first night if it wasn't for you." Bill shrugged uncomfortably, remembering how he had clung to her as she slept.  
  
"Second, I know it hurts. Goddess, I know it hurts. But could you please write us? I think it would kill me to lose another Weasley. You became my family after my parents were killed." Before he could reply, she took a deep breath and plunged into the last.  
  
"Third. This is the big one, Bill, and I can understand if you say no. But. if anything happens to Harry or I, will you take care of my baby? I found out for sure today. I'm pregnant, and I know that Ron looked up to you."  
  
*  
  
Perhaps, Bill reflected, that was why he remembered that goodbye the most. He had, stuttering, agreed to be a second godfather. Hermione smiled at him and went upstairs. It took him a few minutes to collect himself before he went outside to bid goodbye to the rest.  
  
True to his word, he had written his mother and siblings once a month. And for some reason, he had taken to owling Hermione whenever he felt the urge. He asked her little things, about the baby, or her job at the archives, or how his sister was doing. And he was a little gratified to know that she answered every one of his letters, not too long after she would have gotten them.  
  
He told himself he was just keeping tabs on his little brother's love. He told himself that she was just a link to Ron, as was the child she carried. But what he didn't let himself admit was that maybe, she was starting to mean a little more then that.  
  
Swearing, he went back to attempting a translation on the runes engraved in the tomb. It was a lot of nonsense, and all he could get out of it was the lion will become a cat and the lioness cub will be raised with the head of the pride. He tried to sound them out, and had to jump out of the way as a scythe came swinging out at decapitation height. Since he couldn't make heads nor tails of the inscriptions, he decided to call it a night and headed out for a drink. If Hermione's name crossed his mind, he did his best to ignore it.  
  
* In England, Hermione was bent over a toilet in her and Harry's flat. They both knew that Molly disapproved of them moving out on their own, but neither felt entirely comfortable in the Burrow anymore, where they had to face essences of Ron day after day. Ginny had wanted to move with them, but had stayed home. She didn't want to abandon her mother so soon after the final battle.  
  
Harry held her hair as she threw up over and over again. He and Bill were the only ones who knew about her impending motherhood. She wouldn't be able to hide it naturally for much longer. Once she started to show, she would tell Molly. Until then, she would keep it between the three of them.  
  
"OK, Now?" Harry asked her as she straightened up.  
  
"I think so. I can't wait for him to move- maybe it'll seem more like pregnancy and less like indigestion then," she quipped as she reached for a cup of water to rinse out her mouth. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle being a single mother. Harry had been an enormous help, and not just emotionally. He had bullied her into accepting a room in a flat 'to make it less lonely', and then told her to decorate the third bedroom like a nursery. Ginny seemed a bit worried until she accidentally overheard a conversation between Harry and Seamus Finnegan when she was heading to meet him for supper.  
  
".Hermione. Are you moving into Ron's place, mate?" "Not like that. She's the closest thing I've got to a sister. I want to take care of her." "I thought Ginny would be sister material for you, not Hermione." "Ginny's the one I'm in love with, Seamus. Not Hermione. And I wouldn't change that if I could."  
  
A bit embarrassed at overhearing this, Ginny had spilled all to Hermione at first opportunity. Hermione still felt a warm glow whenever she thought of it. A sister. She'd always wanted a brother.  
  
Brother. That's how she thought of more then a few people lately. It seemed that the Weasleys had decided that even though she and Ron had never gotten to marry, she was still their sister-in-law. Fred, George, Charlie. all three of them stopped by regularly, coming for tea or dragging her out for a meal.  
  
And Bill, as promised, wrote her regularly. She wasn't quite sure of what to make of that, as she knew that he wrote her more then anyone else. She still loved Ron with all her heart, and wasn't quite sure what to do about the niggling feeling she got when she remembered clinging to Bill for that first night.  
  
*  
  
A voice that no one would have believed spoke in the darkness, coldly assessing.  
  
"Is the reinformation campaign almost completed?"  
  
"Yes, sir. We should have the new Army together within the month. Expect campaigns soon after that."  
  
"How many did we manage to gather after the battle?"  
  
"Fifty-three, sir. I also discovered one little bonus you may enjoy."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"We captured one of Potter's best friends as well."  
  
Eyes lit with manic delight, and the Lieutenant shuddered. He never wanted this job, but to leave would mean his death.  
  
*  
  
Hermione carefully dressed herself, getting ready to head to the Weasleys. Bill had come back from Egypt for the first time since he'd left, and he'd done it at her request. Both he and Harry would be at her side as she told Molly about the impending arrival. It wasn't that she was nervous, per se, but she needed the extra support. None of them was too sure about how Molly would react, and Hermione was so emotional these days.  
  
Ginny had found out by accident when she walked into the room Hermione was busy decorating, and was very hurt no one had told her for about five minutes before her excitement overcame her. She was making sure that the Floo connection at the Burrow would accept Hermione's clearance. Since she was now in her second trimester, Apparating was no longer safe for her or the baby.  
  
Harry emerged from his room, looking sleepy until he saw that Hermione was ready to go.  
  
"All right there, Hermione?" he asked her, seeing once again the girl who had lied to the teachers after the mountain troll incident.  
  
"Never better," she responded shakily. Harry let her get away with the lie. It was obvious to him that she needed it to steady herself.  
  
"I'll meet you there," he said as she stepped into the flames and said "The Burrow!"  
  
Less then thirty seconds later, she was shot straight into Bill's arms on the other side of the network. He was obviously expecting her, and they managed to not fall over as she caught her balance.  
  
"Is everyone here?" she asked as she disentangled herself from him.  
  
"I think we're still waiting on Charlie. Last minute shopping trip for mum." Bill responded, trying not to stare at her. He had felt the slight rounding of her tummy when he caught her, but that barely registered when he saw how she was blooming. Her face was rounding once again, her cheeks had more colour then the stark white they had been the last time he had held her. He shook himself.  
  
"We should go claim seats, or we'll be sprawled out on the floor. That tends to happen when this family gets together," he said to fill the silence that seemed to go too long.  
  
"Bill, there are nine seats in your living room," she said quietly, pain darkening her eyes.  
  
Bill flinched. He had forgotten that with three taken away, there wouldn't be a need for them to scramble any more. Strangely, that hurt him almost as much as the news that Percy was a Death Eater had.  
  
"Well, we want the good ones," he said lightly in an attempt to cover up his blunder. She smiled a bit, and both were glad when Harry came dashing in.  
  
"Hermione, your work called as I was apparating out. Something about a field assignment, I told them you would get back to them when you got home. It was the old guy- you know, the one with the weird glasses?"  
  
"I'll deal with it when I get home. Shall we?" she asked the two men in her life, and they walked arm in arm to the living room. None of them commented on how odd it felt to have Bill as part of the three instead of Ron.  
  
Molly took the news better then expected. Only once did her eyes light dangerously, and then she visibly calmed herself.  
  
"So, Hermione, who's baby is it? Harry's?" Molly asked, her voice calm and even. Ginny and Charlie glanced at each other worriedly. The calm voice was what usually happened when someone had committed something so dastardly that she wanted to make very sure of her facts before sending them to oblivion. In fact, the last time they remembered it being used was when Fred and George had used their pet Puffskien for Bludger practice.  
  
Hermione flinched, and then looked straight into Molly's eyes.  
  
"No, Molly. It's Ron's."  
  
That simple sentence silenced everyone more completely then the announcement that Percy was a Death Eater. Molly gathered Hermione up in an embrace, and the two women cried together.  
  
Charlie grimaced at the sight. He had heard rumours that some of the victims of the final battle weren't as dead as they seemed. Harry had brought him the information that Blaze was among them, and pretending to go along with the re-information campaign. She was their last spy, and Charlie was dying to get to her. He and Harry were leaving right after supper. Charlie only wanted to collect Blaze and get the hell out of there, but Harry wanted the remaining Death Eaters to pay, once and for all.  
  
Bill noticed the emotions flicking over his brother's face. He shrugged, knowing that Charlie could take care of himself. Whatever his brother had his mind set on, there was no way that he would be able to talk him out of it. So he turned, and gathered his mother and Hermione into a hug. Harry sat back, knowing that dynamics were changing. He resented it, but realized that they couldn't all mourn Ron forever. They had to move on, and this was one way to do it. Ron would live on in the child, and Harry would make sure that the baby knew all about his real daddy. 


	3. Attack

_A/N- I almost put this story on hold, because I came across a fic that has rather disturbingly mirrored ideas that I have used in most of my HP fanfic. However, my sister fate Clothos pointed out to me that in this fandom, there are very few original ideas left. So I continue, and hope that the writer who calls herself Cyn will not use any of my original ideas, because then I'll have to cut some threads. For those who aren't sure what I mean- go to www.sphereofsilence.net . There, I am Atropos. There is a story there that I haven't posted anywhere else. _

Chapter 2 

Hermione and Harry arrived back at their flat sometime later, with Bill, Charlie and Ginny in tow. Charlie and Harry needed to tell the others what was up before they left, and they didn't want to do it in front of Molly. Fred and George had stayed at the Burrow with Molly, trusting that the others would fill them in later. 

"Harry and I are leaving tonight. We don't know when we'll be back." Charlie said bluntly, not wanting to waste any time.

"Leaving? To go where?" Ginny asked with a deceptive calm much like her mothers.

"Gin, Charlie has a lead on Blaze. She can't get out alone, and he needs backup. I'm going with him." Harry said, attempting to head off the explosion.

"I'm coming with," Ginny said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

Charlie shook his head. "I'm not losing another sibling because she was too stubborn to stay where it's safe." He said it so calmly that it was all Ginny could do not to slap him.

"And I am not losing my boyfriend and another sibling because they were too stupid to take a mediwitch along when going on another mission," she managed to say without screaming.

Hermione walked back into the room. She had been fire talking with her supervisor, and knew that this discussion was NOT going to be fun.

"Ginny, it looks like you're going to have to make a choice," Hermione said quietly.

Ginny, caught in mid-argument, stopped and stared. "What do you mean, a choice?"

"It turns out there are some Runes in Egypt that require my skill. I'm the only one they can spare to translate them, and they think it might be very important. So, you need to pick whether to leave your mother completely alone except for the twins, or to go with Harry and Charlie, not knowing when they are coming back."

Ginny grimaced. She had to choose now, because if she didn't they'd leave her behind.

"I'm going. I'll let mum know, and Harry is coming with me so you can't leave me behind." Harry looked at Charlie, who nodded in defeat. 

The two Apparated away, and Bill turned to Hermione.

"Is it wise for you to be travelling in your condition?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm pregnant, Bill, not an invalid. I'll have to Floo there anyway." Bill nodded, and started planning. 

"Wait, Hermione, how long will you be there?"  Hermione looked at him for a moment, as if just realizing that Bill lived and worked near where she would be going.

"As long as it takes. They have no idea what they've found, and the curse-breaker in charge apparently nearly lost his head when he started attempting a vocal translation. Amateurs!" Hermione said in irritation. 

The story was starting to sound very familiar to Bill, but he chose to keep his mouth shut. The project on his end was classified, and if the Goblins thought that bringing in extra help was a good idea, then he would go along with it for now.

"You want someone to show you around?" he asked casually, ignoring the burning that told him his ears were going red.

"That would be lovely." Hermione smiled at him, feeling awkward. 

Charlie chuckled, and then started tapping his foot impatiently. "They should be back by now," he said, his annoyance showing. "Probably stopped off to snog." 

***

Harry and Ginny thought that they had Apparated to a war zone. Screams could be heard coming from the inside of the blazing structure, and it was already starting to cave in on itself. It took a horrified second to process that the Burrow was indeed on fire, and that there was at least one person trapped inside. 

Ginny, in a rush of adrenalin, cast for a rainstorm that quickly doused the flames. The screams continued, and both sprinted for the charred ruins.

They found Molly, badly burned, tied up and facing up the staircase. Ginny started to cast healing and diagnostic charms all over her mother, while Harry gingerly made his way up the stairs. He was using a levitation charm on himself, as he didn't trust anything to hold him.

He heard a creak, and then another groan.

"Ginny! Get Molly out of here! It's coming down!" 

***

"Report."

"The re-education appears complete. Neither soldier attempted an escape, and they completed the objective before returning to base. They obtained two prisoners, who are now starting their indoctrination."

"Excellent."

Meanwhile, four faces stared at each other in the dark. Two were full of comprehension and shock, and two were full of nothing at all. 

Fred and George looked in amazement at the two faces they thought they would never see again. They couldn't possibly be seeing what they though they were seeing, because the people they were looking at were dead or missing. 

"Blaze? Ron?" Fred whispered cautiously.

There was no response from the vacant eyes across the room.

***

Hermione felt it first. Her face went stark white, and she sat down before she fell. Bill was at her side in an instant.

"Ron. I felt Ron," she whispered. "He was so close, like in the other side of my head."

Bill held her close, wishing he knew what to say as she shuddered. Neither noticed that Charlie, too, was disturbed.  Blaze was close, and she hadn't come to him. 

"I need to leave now. I can't wait for them any longer. Every moment is one more that she might be dead, and I can't take that. Tell Harry to catch up with me. I'll be at the third checkpoint come morning." With that, he left, leaving them nervous and quiet.

An hour passed, and then another, before Ginny came back. She was covered in soot and ashes, her face tear-streaked. 

"I need help," she managed before she burst into tears once more. 

Hermione, Bill and Ginny arrived back at where the Burrow once stood, the charred remains in a pile in the middle of the yard. Harry held Molly's hand and talked to her about little, unimportant things until he heard Bill arrive. 

"She needs you. We haven't found the twins, and the fire appears to have been lit in the hallway outside their room. There are no human remains, though." Bill cringed at the matter-of-fact tone. Harry only used the monotone when things were bad. Charlie was going to regret leaving, but they could deal with that later.

"All right. How's Mum?" Bill asked quietly.

"Not good. She isn't stable enough to move, and Ginny's done all she can, but she has third degree burns on most of her body. I'll be surprised if she makes it through the night." Harry spoke bluntly, knowing that there was no way to soften the blow. Bill merely nodded, and walked over to the spot on the ground where Hermione was tending to his mother. Her face was largely untouched, except for right along her hairline. The soft red-grey hair that she had for most of his life was charred away, leaving a burned and blistered scalp.

He carefully levitated his mother into a sitting position, and conjured some water. 

"Here, mum, drink. It'll make you feel better." Hermione saw him slip a small potion into the cup.

He saw her looking, and whispered "Pain potion," and she nodded in understanding. Bill thought it best not to tell her that it was really the Painless Death potion all Curse Breakers received, in case they ended up trapped in a tomb that they could not be rescued from. They were all under orders to wait one month before taking it. Bill had hoped his vial would never be needed.

Molly managed to open her cracked lips, and sighed with relief as the cool liquid ran down her throat. Silent tears ran down Bill's face as he held her. 

"Arthur!" Molly said, her voice cracking.  Bill looked up, startled. No one was there.

"Thank goddess. I hurt so much," she said a moment later. She turned her eyes up to her eldest, and smiled at him.

"Tell them I love them. And take care of them for me, until we meet again."

"I promise," he whispered, and saw the life light bleed out of his mother's eyes.

"I promise, Mum," he said again, to himself. This time, it was Hermione who gently moved the body, and Hermione who held him- all through the night.


	4. Tidings

Chapter Three 

****

When first light dawned, the ragged foursome made their way down to Stoatshead Hill, and summoned the Knight Bus to take them to Harry and Hermione's flat.  None of them wanted to be anywhere near the childhood home. 

            Later, after they'd taken the chance to map things out, a plan was formed. Harry and Ginny would go to find Charlie, and let him know what had happened. Since Harry knew roughly where Charlie was headed, they were the most logical choice. 

            Bill would be taking Hermione with him to Egypt. Clearly, whoever planned this attack was targeting the Weasleys. There weren't all that many left now, as Arthur, Percy, and Ron were all dead and Fred and George were missing. They had chosen to spend the night after the meeting in their old room, both to keep their mother company and to improve the wards. Apparently, they had been too late. Hermione and her baby were prime targets now, as she couldn't Apparate without risking the baby. 

            So, the Weasley clan would split up for their own safety. Fred and George, if they had been taken, would let Bill know soon. They had their own methods of communication to use to let another know if they'd been hurt. It had saved Bill's neck more then once, and he hoped that it would help the twins this time. Pigwigeon was a wonderful size to stash in a pocket.  Meanwhile they couldn't risk contact.

            By dawn the morning after the attack on the Burrow, everyone was well on his or her way.  Hermione and Bill were forced into covert travel that would take much longer then the others. Egypt was a long way away from England. That was what they needed now. 

***

            Harry and Ginny Apparated to the meeting point, and found Charlie asleep while waiting for them in the Muggle hotel. Harry roughly shook him awake.

            "What the hell are you still doing here? With the head start, you should be three steps ahead of us by now."  Charlie heard the barely restrained anger in Harry's voice. As he blinked the sleep from his eyes, he noted the new lines on Harry's face, and the singed edges of Ginny's hair. Before he had a chance to ask what had happened he had to face the furious tirade Ginny started.

            "And SLEEPING, no less, in public, in broad daylight, where any Death Eater could find you and kill you where you sit. Are you insane?! Have you got any idea what it would do to us if we lost ANOTHER member of this family through pure stupidity?"

            Charlie looked at his baby sister in awe. "Ginny, I'm going to have to let Mum know just how much you've learned from her. I could SWEAR that sounded almost exactly like the howler she sent after I broke my jaw playing Quidditch in sixth year." As a matter of fact, the howler had said "You may feel as though you have an excess of brothers, but I most certainly do NOT have an excess of sons. I have no intention of losing one to their own stupidity." He wasn't about to mention that to Ginny, though, since the family had suffered so much already.

            "Hopefully, Charlie, you won't be telling Mum anything for a long time," Ginny responded quietly.

"What do you mean? Does this have something to do with the length of time it took you to get home last night?" Ginny nodded, and looked at Harry. He reached for her hand, and held it as he looked Charlie straight in the eye.

"Charlie, there was an attack on the Burrow last night. Your mother… didn't make it. The twins are missing." Harry held Ginny close as the tears began to fall again. 

All the blood drained out of Charlie's face. "Blaze. My god, now I know. Harry, now we know."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously. There was something in Charlie's tone that told him he had a rough idea of what was going on.

"When you didn't come back, we were starting to get annoyed. Then Hermione nearly passed out, and I felt Blaze in the back of my mind… it was like she was close, but she wasn't there. If Hermione felt… say, RON, I think I know what happened."

"You're saying that whomever has Blaze, maybe Ron and possibly the twins has somehow convinced them to attack their own family home? Considering we know Ron is dead, and Blaze has been missing since the battle, how sure are you of the information that we have?" Harry was poking holes through Charlie's theory from experience, his training had taught him to do no less. But still, he thought that Charlie had something.

"Look, I know it sounds insane. But what if someone else found a way to absorb all the life forces that Voldemort couldn't, and then returned them on their own terms? How many people were bitten while you were killing Voldemort? How many people's life forces were drained with nowhere to go?"

"We need to find out more about this spell. What do you know about the basis for the whole Snake-life-death thing that Voldemort was after?"

"I think I read something about it. Or maybe it was Hermione. She was the big researcher of us all. I came up with the crazy ideas, she figured out how to make them work, and Ron poked holes through both theories until we could carry them out. We should fire-call her."

Charlie shook his head. "We can't. We also can't owl her. Bill has charmed her to be a Non-Person. It's the only way to keep the Death Eaters from tracking her."

Ginny looked between her Brother and fiancé. 

"We'll soon find out, won't we? Where were we going?" Charlie and Harry looked at each other.

"Don't even think about it." Ginny said calmly. "Think about what?" Harry said innocently- too innocently for Ginny to believe him.

"We've been through this. I'm going with you. And if I'm right, we're going to Egypt to speak with our resident walking library," she said smugly. "Especially since sending an owl to Bill will bring his wrath on all of us." Harry shook ihis head. 

***

Bill and Hermione were sweaty, dirty, and tired. They were sick of travelling the Muggle way, and Bill had to restrain Hermione from slapping the smug ticket agent in Saltzburg. When he had told them that there was no such thing as a direct flight to Cairo, even Bill was slightly afraid of her.

"Please excuse my wife, sir. She's very tired and a bit cranky at the moment. Since your airline obviously doesn't have a direct flight to Cairo, would you please point us to one that does?" Hermione was too shocked at the use of "wife" to protest anything that Bill said, and less then two hours later they were settled on a complimentary first class flight to Cairo. They had lucked out when the tickets supervisor overheard Bill.

At forty thousand feet, Hermione felt safe enough to look and Bill and ask "Wife? Did I miss something here?" 

Bill looked a bit sheepish. "It just came out. I thought we may have better luck if he thought we were married and not just running off together somewhere. But you know…. Never mind."

"What?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Forget it. It was a bad idea." Bill wasn't sure why the idea that crossed his mind was so appealing, but he was NOT about to share it. Though marrying Hermione would be wonderful. He sighed. Then he caught himself. For her protection, of course! That was why he wanted to marry Hermione. Just for her protection, and the baby's. He was a godfather, after all. The fact that he would have the right to snuggle with her was just a side benefit…. BAD Bill! Bad! He felt lower then a flobberworm. When did he start having romantic thoughts about his baby brother's fiancé?

'Your DEAD baby brother's fiancé, mate. Don't beat yourself up too bad.' He thought to himself. He shook himself out of his thoughts, and bright brown eyes were still looking at him curiously. "Get the fate of the world sorted out?" Hermione asked him teasingly. Bill shook his head.

"Hermione, I'll understand if you say no to this, but hear me out first, OK?" Bill looked nervous, and Hermione nodded, already afraid that she knew what was coming. After all, Ron had said the same thing to her once. 

"I think we should get married." Hermione looked at him more in disbelief that in shock, and he hastened to explain.

"Whoever is out there is targeting Weasleys. I know that makes this seem insane. However, you're already a Weasley by association. The Goblins will not permit anyone but a wife to live in company quarters with me. I was planning on finding you a close hotel or flat, but with all of this happening, I think you need to be close. I know I'm not Ron, can't ever be Ron, but…. I can help you get ready for the baby and everything. We enjoy each other's company. We wouldn't have to do anything… physical if you didn't want to. But please, let me protect you. Let me help you. Let me do this…" He trailed off as he saw the look in her eyes.

            Inside, Hermione was screaming. Once, another pair of beautiful blue eyes had looked at her as he proposed. Only then, it was with love, and not cold and calculated reasoning. Then, she had wanted to weep as well, but out of joy. There was firelight instead of filtered sunlight. She wanted to say no, to beg him to go away. But she couldn't get past the fact that the look in Bill's eyes was exactly the same as Ron's. 

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Bill? Are you positive this is a step you want to take?" Hermione whispered.

"Hermione, I would die to protect you. You're already family. This would just make it official."

"Then I accept." She tried to smile at him through her tears. She seemed to be dong all together too much crying lately, and it was pissing her off. Hermione was NOT a crybaby.

            "We should do it as soon as we land. Tie up any loose ends. Then there won't be any problems." Bill said, not wanting to give Hermione any time to think. He was afraid he'd lose her if she could only come up with enough reasons why they should NOT live together. 

            "Trying to rush me to the altar, Bill?" she asked him dryly. He looked flustered, and she laughed without humour. Closing her eyes, she leaned into the chair and pretended to sleep. Instead, she remembered another proposal. Ron's proposal.

***

It was seventh year. Voldemort was a serious threat, and something they knew they would be facing as soon as they hit the real world. All three had started Auror training in place of other electives, though it had been a wrench to give up Care Of Magical Creatures. None of them now took anything but their NEWT Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, DADA and a specialization. Hermione took Arithmancy, Harry took Wandless Magic, and Ron had taken Magical Healing. After a particularly exhausting training, Harry had gone to find Ginny, and Ron had asked Hermione to wait for a moment downstairs- he needed to get something from his Head Boy's room. 

Hermione had smiled, settled on the couch, and waited for Ron. As she sank into the cushions, she fell instantly and deeply asleep. She woke to Ron stroking her face, and she stood up to look at him. She would never forget the look in his eyes at that moment. They were a strange mixture of terror and hope, and she thought later that had she been coherent, those eyes would have given him away.

The firelight danced on the Hearthrug as Ron cleared his throat. "Hermione, just hear me out before you say anything OK?" At her nod, he smiled.

"I know that it's too soon, and that there are so many things that need to be done before we can truly do what we want. But for tonight, just for tonight, I want to focus on the future. When I try to look ahead and see where I'll be when this bloody war is over, it's hazy. I'm not sure about anything but one- that wherever I am, I want you next to me. I love you Hermione. Will you marry me?" He held out a ring with a small but perfect sapphire in the centre. 

Hermione's eyes had teared up, and all she could do was nod before flinging herself into his arms. He gently slid the ring onto her finger, and she leaned up for a kiss. Before she kissed him, she whispered to him.

"We'll be together always, right Ron?"

"Always, Hermione. Always."

***

Hermione's eyes began to water in her plane seat. "But we aren't! You left me. Oh, Ron, why did you have to leave?" 

Bill looked at the bleak look on her face, and knew that nothing but time could heal the raw wounds that war had torn on Hermione's heart. Bill had done many things in his life. Some of them had been physically exhausting, like the training for being a Curse Breaker.  Some of them had been mentally draining. But at that moment he felt that no one could ask anything harder for him to do then to know that Hermione was in pain, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. Nothing, that is, but wait.

Gradually, Hermione came out of her trance, and managed a watery smile at Bill.

"So, are we going to have to hire some witnesses, or do you have that arranged, too?"

***

Fred and George sat in the corner, huddled together for strength as much as warmth. The day had been excruciating, and neither wanted to go to sleep for fear it would start again. What made it even more horrid was that it was their baby brother administering the torture. 

Ron had strapped them down with expressionless eyes, and cast the spell to trap them. They were being forced to relive the battle, and see exactly what happened to the ones they loved. They were forced to watch as Percy took Arthur down. They watched as one of Voldemort's poisoned snakes bit Ginny, and saw Ron administer his own antidote as he carried her off the field. They watched as Ron and Hermione leapt over the bodies of their father and brother, and saw the snake that got Ron strike. Fred saw a dark haired girl scream his name as another faceless minion used a poisoned daggar to run her through. 

And when the horrifying visions stopped, their baby brother looked at them without pity or remorse. When he spoke, it was without inflection or recognition.

"You will give in, you know. All of us did. And then he will own your souls as well as ours."

Later in their cell, Fred looked out the window. "It's clear." George painstakingly finished the note. He had no quill, only his finger.  Fred pulled the small, battered owl out of his pocket. "Find Bill, Pig. He's in hiding."


	5. Memories

Chapter 4

Ginny was exhausted, though she would never admit it to her brother or her fiancé. They were still looking for a reason to send her home, and if they thought that she was tired they may have sent her to stay with Dumbledore or something. Something told her that she needed to be on this mission, and no one was going to stop her. Still, they had Apparated between seven countries and portkeyed thorough three more before the men slowed down enough to sleep. The rented one room in a Muggle Hotel, and Ginny promptly showered, flopped out on the bed she would share with Harry, and went to sleep. Harry and Charlie smiled at her, proud of the fortitude that she had shown. The pace they had kept that day had made more then one fully trained Auror wilt. Obviously, Ginny had not let herself downgrade from the peak physical training that they all kept up during the war. Harry soon crawled in next to her, and the rhythmic breathing coming from their side of the room soon told Charlie that he, too, was asleep.

Charlie climbed out of bed, unable to sleep as the ghosts of memories played through his head. He'd known her since Hogwarts, always friends but never in "that way." They stayed with the same group of friends, played Quidditch together (she was a Chaser), and went through dragon training together. She was always there, always a friend, but never really a best friend.

Until the day she walked onto the Dragon Reserve in Romania after five years in Canada, and he was assigned as her guide and flatmate. Her hair, cut so short in training because of the Fire Hazard, was now past her waist, and braided into a coronet around her head. She was in typical reserve garb, with her dragonhide trousers fitting her like a second skin. Her arms, left bare by the fitted black muggle tank top, showed off an impressive array of burn scars that just barely topped Charlie's. And her eyes… those changeable depths that could go from green to blue to gray in a fit of moodiness were flashing her blue welcome.

Charlie fell hard.

Blaze, however, did not.

She was there to observe, to find things out, and then to report back to her own reserve in the Canadian Rockies. She gave in one night right before she left, the passion between them finally released with the aid of memories and a bottle of Ogden's.

Charlie smiled to himself in the dark as he remembered.

"Blaze! I have a surprise!" 'Or at least I hope it's a surprise…' Charlie thought as he pounded his way into their flat. Their flat- he supposed it would be odd to think of it as his flat again once she left. He pushed that thought ruthlessly aside. He would deal with that when he had to.

"Down in five!" she shouted down the stairs from the direction of the bathroom. He shivered, trying to not think about the creamy flesh that was even this moment being lathered with cocoa body wash, or the miles of red blonde hair that earned her nickname fresh and fragrant with shampoo. Too late- he felt all the blood drain from his head to his lap. With shaking hands, he poured himself a shot, knocked it back, and then sat down. It hadn't steadied him in the slightest, but he had no intention of getting smashed alone. Tonight was for the past.

"You know, you really…." Blaze's eyes went wide when she saw the 40 ounce bottle of Ogden's Extra Special Old Fire Whiskey. It was her favourite, and the only type of liquor that she would permit herself to become completely inebriated on. It was also the one that she and Charlie had shared right after they finished Hogwarts, and again after Dragon Training.

"What's the occasion?" she asked curiously.

"You're internship here ends soon, and this may be the last time our nights off coincide. So I thought, why break with tradition?" Charlie hoped like hell she didn't look at that any closer, at best it was a weak excuse.

After giving him a look that said she most definitely didn't believe him, she poured herself a shot and downed it.

"Now that we're even, we need to charm the bottle. I'm assuming that you haven't?" at his headshake, Blaze cast her charm.

"How long did it take us to get that charm exactly right?" Charlie asked her as she finished.

"Never did. We never figured out how to loophole it out of sex dares." Blaze batted her eyelashes at him. "Feeling brave?"

He grinned at her, enjoying the familiar banter. "Feeling lucky?"

"More like I'm lucky that I won't be feeling a Weasley," she teased him.

"We need the others next time." Charlie said with a laugh, remembering the teasing that used to go around.

"Connie, maybe. She and Darien are getting married, did you hear?"

"I can't believe that she, out of all of us, is the one who's getting married first. That's SCARY, Blaze. And why not John? He's my best friend!"

"Charlie, you face Dragons for a living, and you find the idea of three small words scary?" Blaze said, dodging the question about her ex-boyfriend and Hogwarts sweetheart.

"Not scary, but more… intimidating."

"I call lie."

"On the count of three, two, one,"

"DRINK!" they called in unison, and then the games began.

After several shots and embarrassing dares later, Blaze had lost her shirt, PJ pants, and was sitting on the carpet with nothing but her underwear.

"For the lasht time, 'hic' Charile, I'm NOT going to go kissh Norbert!" Blaze mumbled drunkenly. The Charm 'popped', and Crimson was still sitting on the carpet… except now she was minus her bra. Once again, the blood pooled from Charlie's head to his lap.

"Ok Charlie, 'hic', Since you like them so much, I dare you to 'hic'…."

"Blaze, I get to choose!" he protested indignantly as he sat across from her. He had a sock and his boxers left, and so the blood pooling in his lap was VERY apparent. Blaze noticed and giggled.

"Ok, so choose," she said, in the same tone she would use on humouring a child.

"Truth!" he said hastily, avoiding what he was sure was going to be another foray on their next door neighbours. Thankfully he had warned them about this tradition, and they had agreed to put up with it… as long as they could join in the next time.

"Do you want to touch me?" she asked him with a naughty grin, and very little trace of the drunken slur that had been effecting her words since the third shot.

"Yes," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Then do it."

Charlie made a low growl deep in his throat, and was over to her in an instant. Scooping her up into his lap, he started to stroke her back, her neck, all the creamy skin he had fantasized about earlier…and last night…and the night before that. His rough hands moved from her smooth sides to circle underneath her breasts.

"Do you want this?" he asked her quietly.

"More then anything in my entire life," she gasped out.

"Will you still want this when we wake up tomorrow?"

"I did this morning. And the morning before that, and for weeks now" she admitted.

That was all Charlie needed. His hands moved to cup her breasts, and he began to flick his callused thumbs back and forth across her nipples. Blaze let out a low moan, and Charlie stood, still holding her in his arms. "Shall we move this somewhere more comfortable?" he asked her with a grin.

"I'm comfortable where I am. Aren't you?" she replied with a smile.

"We could be considerably more… ummph!" Charlie grunted as Blaze expertly flipped him onto his back on the floor. She cast a complicated locking charm on the doors, and then turned to her winded wizard.

"I want to christen every room of this house tonight. So that when I go, all you have to do is sit back and close your eyes, and remember. Do you think that you can handle that?"

Charlie looked at the witch holding him prisoner. Her hair was trailing down her back, the only contrast to her white skin. Her eyes were glowing, and he knew he was lost.

"I think I can handle that."

She leaned down, and touched her lips to his. He felt the firm, warm pressure, and opened his lips to allow her access. Tongue met tongue, and one kiss became more. Deeper, more desperate then any kiss should allowed. Hands began to stroke, and feel, and knead quickly heating flesh. The last barriers of clothing we removed, and they shut out the world with each other.

Hermione looked at the simple gold band around her finger with disbelief. She still couldn't quite believe that she was now Mrs. Weasley. Of course, she had expected since her third year she would be Mrs. RON Weasley eventually, but the fact that she was Mrs. Bill Weasley would take some getting used to. Then there was the odd attraction that she felt- the one that made her heat when she looked at Bill's long red hair, or the sharp blue of his eyes. And the concern for her and the baby, while annoying, still made her feel safe and cared for.

She stroked her tummy, sheltering the life she held inside her. She was afraid of the implications this would have on the baby. She would raise her to call Bill Daddy, and that was right, but would it be fair to tell the child of her real daddy? The one that died before he knew she existed? She shook her head. Not till the baby was older, and would understand. It hurt that Molly wouldn't see her grandchild. Her parents would never know that Hermione had a child. And Ron… it hurt most of all that Ron wouldn't ever know that the baby he had spoke of wanting when the war was over would be raised by his brother.

Hermione looked up from her musings. Bill was carrying the last of her stuff into the small flat they now shared. He insisted that she sit and rest, put her feet up and let him do the heavy work. While she was tempted to argue she was not a fragile flower that needed to be taken care of, she did need to sit. And besides, it was entertaining to watch him struggle with the boxes the charms had worn off of. He claimed it was easier to move them without the charms then redo the charms. Common sense ruled out for her, at least and now she was sitting, watching this handsome man who now called himself her husband. He, too, had lost his true love. He knew what it was like to be plagued with memories of the past. And he was there, with a shoulder to lean on, when she cried that bleak night after the battle when it seemed the sun would never shine again.

He was Bill, he was there, and he was hers.

She smiled, perhaps her first genuine smile since the Burrow the night before, and walked over to where Bill was surveying the small pile of boxes. All were books, and were very heavy. He kicked one with his toe, grunted, and then turned to see her standing right behind him, trying not to laugh.

"How many of those things did you bring, anyway? The entire Hogwarts Library?" Bill asked indignantly, thinking longingly of the feather-light charm he had been 'too manly' to use.

"Minus the restricted section. Those arrive by carpet tomorrow," she smiled at the horrified look on his face. And then very deliberately walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head against his chest. She wasn't ready to give up Ron. He would live in her heart and mind. But at the moment, she needed comfort that she could feel, a warm body she could touch and smell. And when Bill's startled arms wrapped securely around her, she was positive that Ron, wherever he was, would approve.

Bill was startled. Hermione was holding on to him, and it was his name she spoke in that little breathy whisper as he stroked her back.. He knew, as she did, they still had a long way to go to be a 'normal' couple. His memories of Fleur had faded into something bearable over the last few years. It would take time for Hermione's memories of Ron to do the same. He still woke up, sweaty and guilty in the middle of the night after a dream of what must have been her last few minutes of life. He knew Hermione still had nightmares. It would take them a bit to work themselves together.

For now, they could concentrate on being a newly wed couple, already having had their 'holiday, working in similar fields. Bill had yet to tell her that the 'ridiculous amateur' of the attempted vocal translation was now living with her. He couldn't wait to see her face when she arrived at the tomb to be shown around by him. It would be very interesting to see what her reaction would be.

He looked at the double bed Gringotts supplied for all married couples, and wondered how THAT was going to work. It was already late in the day, they had been travelling for over 14 hours, and Bill was wiped. As Hermione had gone to sit with very little argument, he imagined that she was too. And damn it, it may not be gentlemanly, but he needed his sleep! He let go of Hermione, and she slouched back towards the chair. 'Poor girl is ready to fall over' he thought, moved by how har she was trying to stay awake.

"Hermione, is it okay if we share the bed? I'll keep to my side, but I need sleep and that couch is not comfortable for either of us. Her eyes widened a bit.

"Share the bed? Oh, I assumed we would be anyway, since it's the only one in here," she responded, looking at the bed in question.

"You won't be uncomfortable?" he pressed, not really believing her since she wouldn't look at him.

"It's all right, Bill. I just…"

"Just what?" he asked, concerned.

"Don't want to keep you awake with my nightmares,' she muttered, more embarrassed at having to admit to them then upset about sharing a bed.

"As long as you don't mind being woken up by mine, I think we'll be all right." Bill smiled at her, the same crooked have smile she'd seen on Ron's face so many times before. He was still unsure.

"It's a deal. Now, Mr. Weasley, go change. I'm going to throw on my nightgown and crawl in myself. Will it cool off any tonight?" she looked for an air conditioner before hearing "Are you witch or not!" echoing in the back of her head. She wanted to shake the memory away, but she knew that the shock had played across her face.

"The temperature drops drastically at night. We're in the desert now, love." Bill looked startled at his choice of endearments, and Hermione looked up at him and tried to smile. He wasn't sure what made him say it, he just needed to drive the haunted look off her face. Before she could comment, Bill had ducked into the other room. She changed, and wiggled her way under the sheets. When Bill came back out, she was already fast asleep.

'All to the good' Bill thought to himself. In his hand was an exhausted little owl, feathers ruffled and beaten. Some how, Pig had found them. The little owl had become the main communication between the siblings since Ron's death, and could find a Weasley faster then any other owl anywhere.

Bill smoothed the bit of parchment, the message on it written in blood.

_b. f&g capt. SoS. r n b 2. hed. clen. _

Bill translated it to himself, trying to find the error that would mean they were all right.

"Bill. Fred and George captured. Need immediate assistance. Ron and Blaze are here too. Brainwashing."


	6. Prophecy

_Authors Note: Sorry about the wait on the update, guys, I know it's been a long time. I had to sort some things out before I could keep going with this fanfic. The ending is written, so now I need to take this story from where it is to where it's going. It may take a while, but I will not abandon this fic. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews._

Chapter 5

Harry and Ginny were awake early the next morning, finding Charlie asleep in the window seat. It was obvious that he hadn't been able to sleep. His clothes were still on, his hair flat except where he had been running his fingers through it. He was snoring softly, and Ginny had to repress giggles when she thought of the way Bill complained when he REALLY got going.

With a careful shake and a shield charm, they woke the errant Weasley up. Charlie shook the kinks out of his neck, and they went down to the lobby for breakfast. The made it halfway down the stairs before Harry shouted 'OW!' A small, feathery tennis ball had once more connected with his head.

_"Abandon operation. Meet central meeting point. New information. Urgent." –The eldest_

The three of them stood up, left a large wad of Muggle money to make up for the fact they didn't even stick around for their food to arrive, and began making the jumps across countries to make it to Egypt. Less then three hours later, after many stops at various checkpoints, they found themselves in front of Gringotts, Cairo.

"Now what do we do?" Ginny asked, looking at the building with no small amount of distrust. "We don't know who might be watching for us."

Harry shook his head. "We'll have to send an owl. Set us up in a Muggle Hotel, and we look like tourists. Hopefully no one of the wrong sort will notice us." Charlie nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. I need something to eat anyway." Ginny, despite her exhaustion, giggled at her brother. "You always need something to eat." When Charlie elbowed her, she turned abruptly green and frantically ran around the building into the shade, where she proceeded to throw up the chocolate frog and half a pumpkin pasty she had grabbed at one of the checkpoints.

Harry looked alarmed, and held her hair back as she retched. She finished, wiped her mouth, and gave him a slightly watery smile. "I think we're fine now. Can we go get something to drink?" Charlie looked at his sister suspiciously, and led the way to a little café he liked to visit when he came to visit Bill.

"You sure you don't need a lie-down or something? You've been looking ill since we left England," he asked his baby sister.

"It must have been the heat or something. I'm fine. Can we eat?" Ginny changed the subject, and Charlie gave up. No one could pry anything out of her when she decided to keep it to herself, not even Harry. She opened the menu, and quickly ordered a salad and a cold butterbeer, declining some of the more… erm… interesting choices as her fiancé and brother began to put away large amounts of food.

Still a bit dubious, Charlie led the way to a small postal outlet right at the edge of the street. Carefully shielding from the outside, he tapped the wall three times with his wand and leaned on it. He disappeared before quickly arriving back.

"We can't send an owl, either. Hermione's charmed, remember? Chances are Bill's warded the entire place." Frustrated, he sat down. "We're close. So close I can FEEL it, but I don't know what to do."

"Do you think Bill's told them what's happening?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Probably not. He said the goblins don't encourage a lot of familiarity. Makes it harder for them to encourage stupid risks, most likely," Harry said disparagingly.

"Then all we need to do is send one of us into the bank and ask for Bill's address. We can tell them we have grave news from home, news that can't be told in a letter. Even if they check it out, they'll find we're telling the truth!" Ginny said excitedly, the wan look on her face starting to fade as she ate.

Harry and Charlie shared another one of the glances that were starting to drive Ginny batty.

"It's going to be me, you know. After all, Harry's obvious and Charlie just looks dangerous. Who better then a sweet, innocent baby sister that needs her big brother's protection?" She gave her best sweet and harmless look, and without even giving them a chance to argue she walked out of the post office, up the street and into Gringotts. All Harry and Charlie could do was wait, and wonder.

The goblin Ginny spoke to was surprisingly sympathetic, and that was enough to put her on her guard. Since when did goblins care about anything except money? He left her in a little room off to the side, and suddenly reappeared with Bill.

Ginny threw herself at her brother like the horribly distraught female she was pretending to be, only to recoil at the feeling. This wasn't Bill. This was someone else, someone who smelled and felt Weasley but was magically off.

"I was open with you. Where the hell is my brother? And WHY did you send me a Polyjuiced impostor?" She let her brown eyes grow wide, and managed some very convincing tears.

"I knew I shouldn't have come when the owl came back. Something's happened to my brother, hasn't it? I've been out of the country, and now I can't FIND him. This was my last hope. I don't have anywhere…" she broke into wet, noisy sobs, and the would be Bill Disapparated with a pop.

Less then five minutes later, a head was poking out of the floo connection in the goblin's office.

"Prove to me you're Ginny Weasley," the voice commanded quickly. Ginny grinned. "I once painted your bedroom bright pink, without magic." The figure nodded once, and disappeared. Ten minutes later, while Charlie and Harry were attempting to figure out how to charge the bank without being killed by hundreds of goblins, Bill strode in the doors. He was dusty, and had most of his curse breaking equipment still around his waist.

"Prove to me you're Bill Weasley," Ginny echoed as soon as he walked in the door. "You're real name isn't Virginia, it's Ginevra, and I was the one who helped you learn how to spell it." Ginny nodded.

"Come with me. I have some news, and it's not good," Ginny said to him for the benefit of the listening goblins.

"Why? What happened now?" Bill asked innocently. He wasn't quite sure what tack his sister had used to get the goblins to summon him out of the tomb instead of using his doppelganger, but apparently she had been convincing. He had hoped they would find a way of getting all of them into Cairo without notice. At least they had the sense to keep the more dangerous ones hidden.

They nearly ran into Charlie and Harry as they were preparing to go in, wands drawn and faces set.

"Put those away, you idiots!" Bill hissed as they casually walked by the two would be rescuers. Sheepishly, the wands were tucked away and they strolled over to an alley. Bill passed out three slips of paper.

"Fidelius charm. 'Mione and I are even better hidden then the goblins could make us. Read, burn, Apparate. Understood?" The three nodded, after reading the co-ordinates and committing them to memory they burned the slips and tucked the ashes into their pockets.

They landed in the middle of the desert, with a single door standing apparently all by itself in the sand.

Bill arrived right behind them. "It's safe, just go, and quickly. We need to hide the door."

Several hours later, the exhausted group left the now severely battered piece of paper on the table, and crashed in hastily conjured sleeping bags jammed into every available space. To deflect any suspicion, Bill and Hermione would arrive at their respective positions the next day and the others would stay at the flat, using Hermione's library to find everything they could on brainwashing and resurrection spells. After all, as far as anyone knew Harry, Ginny and Charlie were just passing on news from home.

Hermione arrived at her designated meeting point, and glared at her guide to the tombs. Bill tried to keep from any nervous fidgeting, but the way his new wife was casually stroking her wand was making it very difficult.

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be funny?" he offered with his very best please-don't-hurt-me smile.

"Did you think I might possibly have NOT wanted to make a fool out of myself?" Hermione said, her voice going condescending. "Or did you think at all?"

Bill winced. "May I show you to the tomb, milady? I promise not to make a vocal translation while your head is in range." He had to repress a grin as his wife motioned in front of her.

"Carry on. It's bloody hot out here and we have better things to be doing as it is." Bill nodded, and managed to hold back the grin the frosty tone inspired until she was behind him and couldn't see it on his face. Sadly, though, he missed the grin that spread across hers the second _he_ couldn't see _her._

When they reached the tomb, Hermione stroked the glyphs with reverence that edged on worship. She took out her paper and charcoal, and, forsaking her wand, made a rubbing that she could lie flat on the floor.

_"Ten lions in a pride_

_Some may live and some have died_

_Lions to kittens weak and lost_

_Cubs to be born to lioness cost_

_Many waking in their turn_

_Many sleeping, many burn_

_Secrets kept here win the battle_

_Words said here forever rattle_

_For this battle to be won at all_

_The Pride of Lions must forever fall"_

"It sounds like a prophecy," Bill said flatly.

Hermione grinned at him. "All the ancient Egyptians thought they were prophets. You should know this by now. This could be the saga of a family, it could tell us what's going in a thousand years. We won't know until when or if it comes to pass. For all we know, it could have already happened and this has sat here without anyone knowing about it. It doesn't say anything about the traps or the treasures. It could be that the secrets it's talking about are the only thing in it."

"The goblins won't be happy. I've spent three weeks on this place." Bill pulled out his ponytail holder, shook out his hair, and then pulled his hair back again.

"Do you have a camp set up? I had expected this to be a lot harder. They don't usually call us in until its so archaic even translation spells are tricky. The only way this one would have been easier was if it was written in English."

"Why don't we go home for lunch? Then you can have a lie-down and I can head to Cairo to explain what's going on. I'll need to go hunting for the secrets later, but I think we've had a good morning worth of work.

"I'll take a lie-down when and if I need one. Honestly, the way you lot are acting anyone would think I'm the first woman having a baby." She smiled at him anyway, and casually slid her hand into his, interlacing her fingers with his. Together, they found the door and went home.


	7. Plans

_A/N- Not a long one, I'm afraid, since you've waited so long for it. For that you have my apologies, but keep in mind that since this story started I've moved four times, had three different jobs and lived in three different cities, along with going to school. It takes a lot out of a girl!_

**Chapter 7**

Later that night, Bill showed the others the maps of passageways hidden underneath the sands. Several of them outlined dead ends, but some appeared to trail into other pyramids, and one in particular seemed to lead straight underneath the Sphinx. Bill had laid in supplies, and had started to modify the entire underground area to be both unplottable and Muggle-repellent. The purpose for this was two fold. One, the Gringotts goblins were starting to want a more secure place to hide the new, high security vaults people were opening up. Two, they figured it would make a good bolt hole for any employees needing somewhere to escape, saving them insurance fees.

Bill started to gesture, illustrating his plan to everyone as he thought it out. The tactics involved reminded everyone painfully of Ron, since Bill's style of defence and attack was very similar. After all, Bill had been the one to pass his grandfather's chess set on to Ron after he felt his younger brother had sufficiently mastered the game.

Pushing thoughts of the baby brother they needed to rescue out of his mind, Bill finished outlining the plan. There was only one flaw- the bait they needed to draw out the new faction was precious. There was no time to make a doppelganger, no time or margin for error. The bait had to be a Weasley and had to have some sort of connection with all the missing members. That meant Charlie was going to somehow have to look vulnerable, and was somehow going to have to find a way to let the enemy know it.

Ginny went white as soon as Bill began to mention bait. Bait was something to be put on the end of a fishing line, a worm or a grasshopper or some other lower form on the evolutionary ladder. As the calmly discussed the need for Charlie to do something stupid, Ginny excused herself from the table. With a slight nod, Hermione got up as well. "We're going for a walk around the cabin. We won't be long, we won't be late, and yes, we are taking our wands. Does that about cover everything?" Without another word, both witches slipped out the door.

"I don't like this, Hermione. I don't like this at all. I've already lost my parents and at least two of my brothers. The chances of getting Ron and Blaze back are minimal, and even if we do, who's to say their the same people they were when they died? Necromantic rituals can enslave, but they can also wipe a personality completely clean and then remake it into someone who's a stranger in a familiar body. I know that you and Charlie felt Ron and Blaze, but what happens when we kill them? What if all we're doing is opening ourselves up for another attack, and risking Charlie in the bargain?" Ginny was pacing, her face reddening, and Hermione looked at her with the deadend eyes of someone who was used to facing things that she'd rather not.

"Ginny, we have to do all we can to get them back. Too many spells can be done against living family members from enslaved or- or- dead ones, and none of us will ever be safe without finding them. Besides, if we just gave up, if we just left them to whatever horrible fate they're in, would we ever be able to forgive ourselves? Would we ever be able to live with the fact we could rescue them and DIDN'T? Charlie wants to do something stupid to get their attention, fine. But we can damn well make sure that he's covered. They just won't know he's covered, you and I can cloak."

Ginny nodded. Hermione's logic made sense, as always. It was difficult not to hate the brainy witch sometimes, but Ginny was one of the few who knew how hard it was for Hermione to learn to think under pressure. It was a hard won skill that had saved a lot of lives- including Ginny's.

Remembering the war and how much it had cost them strengthened both women's resolve, and they walked back into the cabin feeling stronger then they had since the attack on the Burrow. It wasn't until they went back into the cabin that Hermione realized that Ginny still had a secret, and they had become so caught up in what they were discussing she forgot to ask about it. Just once, she thought to herself. Just once I want the world to be normal enough that prying secrets out of my best friend would be all I'd have to worry about. She knew better then to ask for that world to happen without a price, but why was it always the people she loved that had to pay it?

Hermione came back to the present, realizing the men were staring at her expectantly.

"I'm sorry, did you ask me something? I'm afraid I wasn't all here," she said absently.

Harry looked back and forth from Bill to Hermione twice, and then raised his eyebrow that suddenly reminded her of Snape before a particularly nasty inquisition.

"I was just wondering, now that you're both here, when the hell you and Bill decided to get married, where the hell it came from, and why the hell you didn't wait for us to arrive to prank you?" While his tone was light, the questions being voices were not, and Hermione knew that she would have to go for a walk with her best friend around the cabin as well. Soon.

Bill shifted on his chair, moving the attention off of Hermione and on to himself.

"I married her to protect her, and keep her close. I also married her so that she would have some stability when the baby came, and some live in help when she needs it, and I married her because I damn well wanted to. Happy?" He shot a look at Hermione, who's eyes were tearing up. It told her he'd married her for another reason, as well, and that reason shook her to the core.

He'd married her because he'd fallen in love with her, and didn't want to let her go. She could see it on his face, and so could everyone else in the room. Harry sat back down and was promptly backhanded by Ginny, while Charlie was still trying to process the sudden changes happening to the group in front of him.

"I'll never catch up with all of you. You move faster then a bloody Ridgeback, and for reasons that are even more convoluted." Hermione giggled, a slightly watery sound but one that broke the tension. Bill reached over and squeezed her hand, and she laced her fingers with his. He wasn't Ron. He couldn't be. He was his own unique person, and she realized that she was growing to enjoy that. Bill had his own quirks, and she was falling in love with each of them.

As the guys debated on what needed to be done and how, Hermione and Ginny busily came up with their own plan. The men had decided both women were to stay as far away from the battlefield as possible, with Ginny being just close enough that a telescope charm would tell her if she needed to Apparate and heal someone. The women had decided to make use of a highly classified spell a Muggle born wizard had come up with. None of the men knew about it, so they wouldn't be looking for it. Ginny and Hermione were going to Cloak. It had taken Hermione some time to explain to Ginny that they weren't actually going to be invisible, they were just convincing the atoms around them that they weren't actually there and to move normally. Essentially, they were setting up a mirror effect that hid them better then even invisibility because the slight distortion of looking through something wouldn't be there.

When the final plan was nailed out, the exhausted travellers made their way to their respective sleeping bags. Bill and Charlie looked the other way when Ginny climbed into Harry's, and Harry and Charlie looked the other way when Hermione followed Bill into his room. Wryly, Harry remembered all the times he pretended not to notice Ron's bed hadn't been slept in. All the times he saw Hermione sneaking out of his room after nightmares had kept him up until dawn. All the times that he had covered for his two best friends absences for hours, only to have them arrive back flushed and happy several hours later with clothing slightly askew. He had even surreptitiously found a unicorn, then pointed it out to his friends to watch their reaction. He still wished he hadn't been quite so relieved when it let Hermione near. Maybe, if it hadn't been for his slight disapproval of their carrying on in front of him, they may have had more time.

Another far more disturbing thought crossed his mind a moment later, though. If they managed to rescue Ron, who would Hermione choose, and would the other step down? And if the thought upset him, what would it do to Hermione?


	8. Finale

_**A/N **Didn't think I would do it, did you? No apologies here. It's done, it mught not be the best ending but at least it's an ending. If you're still reading this fic, I commend you._

**Chapter Seven**

The setup for the big day was going to take some time. No one was sure exactly how to 'let slip' where to find them without endangering the girls. Hermione and Bill still had work to do, Hermione looking into the translations and comparing them to known prophecies and Bill going about his normal business until it was time to strike. Harry finally figured out what needed to be done, and quietly slipped away from Ginny's side a little later.

He went to the nearest wizarding post office, and sent a chatty, newsy letter to Charlie's flat with the instructions that it be delivered to the address, not the person. If he was right, their visitors would think that he and Ginny were just visiting Bill after the Burrow's destruction. He mentioned they had plans to visit some of the more interesting pyramids – ones that just happened to enclose a small area of desert almost completely. He invited Bill to join them, making sure to indicate there was some interesting news he didn't want to send in a letter. He thought about planting more, but realized that whoever was spying probably had as much experience in this as Harry himself.

The man who had been waging a bloody war for ten years looked at his handiwork with pride. Planting false information- usually through carefully edited truths filtered through his darling fiancé- was his specialty as the head of the Order of the Phoenix after Dumbledore's death. He hated the way she endangered herself, and he knew she still had to bear the hateful glares of most of the wizarding populace. Once this was taken care of, he planned on accepting the seeker position for the Swift Current Steelheads in Canada. They were battling the Moose Jaw Meteorites for the most victories ever, and the very handsome offer would give he and his soon to be wife a new start.

By the time Ginny woke, looking pale and wan but determined, Harry had already set up all the monitoring charms around the selected ambush zone. Now all they could do was wait. The letter was supposed to arrive to Charlie's flat in three days. They had already sent Pigwidgeon back to the twins with the Weasely sigil and nothing else. It had always meant 'be ready'. They would know what to do when the time came.

Charlie was growing increasingly anxious. The small intuition he was granted was driving him crazy, making it difficult to sleep or carry on a conversation. Blaze was alive, but she wasn't herself. That much was obvious since she had yet to return. His family was in danger, a plan was in place to put him in particular in a lot of danger, and there was nothing left to do but wait. He missed his wife, he missed his brothers, and he never really got a chance to say goodbye to his mother.

Really, he figured eventually he was going to have to get back to the Dragon preserve in Romania, but the thought of returning there, where he and Blaze had finally gotten together, filled him with dread. He wasn't sure if he could take the thought of going back into his one bedroom flat alone. It would, however, take him far away from England. He really liked that idea right now.

Fred and George huddled together on the dirt floor, trying to hang on to what was left of their sanity. They had learned to start pretending to go along with the indoctrination, and clung to the hope the small piece of paper that had been delivered by minute owl gave them. Pigwidgeon was once more safely away without detection, and they didn't dare attempt to include another note. They needed their strength.

Neither was surprised when the monster wearing their brother's face showed at the door. They hid any emotion behind masks as fake as his own, and nodded obediently when they were told to prepare for their first mission. This was it.

Bill looked up abruptly as the slight buzz against his skin told him the proximity warnings had just gone off. They needed to get in place immediately if they had a chance of pulling this off. He heard the quiet pops of his brother and Hermione, and felt the slight air displacement as Harry and Ginny showed off with silent apparition. Hermione had to portkey, so she was slightly of balance when she landed. He caught her and didn't let go of her hand.

"Hermione, Ginny, you know where you need to be. I've hidden your spot with the most classified spells I have, so PLEASE don't give yourselves away. Harry, Charlie, we need to go for whoever seems to be in charge for more reasons then one. They're probably controlling the snake bit, and it's highly likely they'll form the bulk of our attackers. Now, according to the proximity spells there are seven people along- with any sort of luck at all our four will be among them. Be careful. There are so few of us left."

He leaned over, and pulled Hermione close. Much to her surprise and everyone else's, he laid a gentle kiss on her lips before giving her a slight nudge towards where she and Ginny would supposedly be hiding.

"I love you," he said to her as she just looked at him, dumfounded.

"Be safe," she answered him, kissing him back. She had to stay close a little longer for their ploy to work.

Harry held Ginny for one last moment. Before she left, she whispered in his ear.

"You'd better come back, or this little one will think his daddy didn't want him."

He looked at her in amazement, finally seeing her 'illness' for what it was. She smiled, and waited for the moment when she and Hermione would need to grab their portkey.

Charlie looked across the desert at the approaching figures, and he could feel Blaze getting closer to him. The wind had picked up, and the sand was making it difficult to follow the figures moving in the distance. Hermione stood away, leaning on Bill as the feeling in the back of her mind she had always associated with Ron grew more insistent. She still didn't dare believe he was alive. He had died in her arms, and nothing short of a dark and twisted resurrection spell to reanimate his corpse could have brought him back.

The figures came close enough for them to recognize the Weasley red hair blazing, along with two men completely cloaked and unrecognizable.

"Get ready, everyone. They're coming. We kill off the cloaks first, maybe we'll be able to get our siblings back. Remember, right now, no matter what they look like, they are the enemy."

Ginny and Hermione looked at each other before Hermione cast the cloaking spell on both of them. They stayed in the shadows of the closet pyramid, out of range of any wayward spells. Ginny gasped and pointed. Seven people, hooded and cloaked had entered her range of vision. There was no way to tell who they were or who was in charge.

Then, almost as one, the small band lowered their hoods and took out their wands, clearly expecting to surprise the three men standing near one of the pyramids on the far side of the square. Ginny activated her telescoping charm, which magnified her vision so she could see what was going on as if she was only a few feet away.

There were no faces she didn't recognize, and only one that she didn't trust. How had it come to this?

She saw the twins, marching like the others, and was horrified. They had kept their sanity for so long, what finally had broken them? What had convinced them to hand their souls to this thing?

Her breath caught as they spun and took most of the non-Weasley back up in quick succession, and the quick whoop Bill let off lifted her spirits even as she looked up to Ron standing, wand in hand and eyes glowing the sickly green of the Killing Curse. She hoped like hell he couldn't see her. He seemed to be fighting whatever command was echoing in the back of his head.

She heard a scream, and saw Blaze and Charlie battling in the sand. The woman's eyes were like Ron's, and she appeared to be unable to stop herself. She fought ferociously, not holding back at all. Charlie was hampered with the love he felt for his wife, trying desperately not to hurt her even as she tried to kill him. He ended up in the sand, on his back, pleading as she stood over him with her wand trained on his heart. Charlie looked at the face he adored, and knew the person he was in love with was dead. Her personality was gone. Still, he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

As she began incanting the curse to finish him off, he stroked her leg.

"I love you. I'll see you in the Summerlands." Ginny was already up and running, running to try and save him since he couldn't save himself.

It was too late.

Green light flashed, and Charlie was still lying in the sand. He would never get up. He died with a peaceful smile on his face, knowing that Blaze wouldn't be far behind. Something told him only death would free her from the hold on her soul, and now, watching the battle take place from the other world, he discovered what it was.

Hermione cried out in horror as Charlie fell, but before she could take out Blaze an unearthly scream echoed from the only other enemy standing. The man's eyes glowed a red that eerily reminded Harry of Voldemort. Remembering how he had finally disposed of his life long enemy, he started to cast.

The man was quickly eaten in blue and violet flames, and the battle halted as the man controlling Blaze and Ron shrieked and cried as he burned, his body ashes and soul bound to purgatory.

Blaze took one look at Charlie, remembering what she did, and killed herself with a slicing charm to her throat. If Charlie was dead, then so was she. She'd see him in the afterlife.

Bill was numbed to the shock and the mayhem around him. He had blood dripping down his forehead where their enemy had gotten one luck shot off. No one noticed Ginny walk quietly over to the spot where dark ash was quickly blowing into the sand.

"Michael, how could you?" she said quietly, unable to believe that a Hogwarts relationship that ended over a Quidditch game had cost her most of her family.

The sickly green light had faded completely from Ron's eyes, and he looked around frantically for Hermione and Harry. He didn't remember much of his imprisonment. Unlike Blaze, Fred and George, he had been dead when they took his body away. The animating force they gave him to carry out their evil work wouldn't remain long, and he wanted to say good bye.

"Oy, Harry! You'd better marry her or I'll come back and haunt your skinny arse!" Harry spun around at the sound of Ron's voice, but then Hermione suddenly appeared out of nowhere, throwing herself into Ron's arms in happiness and amazement. She kissed him hard, and then stepped back as he looked in confusion at her very round stomach.

"Hermione?" he asked, terrified to hear the answer.

"The night before the battle. Remember?" she said, smiling at the man she loved and feeling horribly guilty at the same time. She loved Ron, but he was dead. The man who had been there for her, loved her, taken her in when her world was crashing deserved her loyalty and her respect.

"Do you have help?" he asked her quickly, feeling his strength fading fast.

"Bill. He's been great…and…we're married, Ron," she admitted, not understanding the relief on his face.

"I love you. I don't have much time, I'm finally going to the Summerlands rather then being tethered where I shouldn't be." He looked at his older brother, and grinned a ghost of his carefree smile. "Take care of her, Bill. Take care of all of them for me."

With that, Ron's body began to dematerialize, leaving a sobbing Hermione in Bill's arms as they watched a bright light track it's way upwards. Harry blinked the tears out of his eyes, and the light was gone.

Somehow, they would get thorough this. They had their closure. They would bury Charlie and Blaze in the family plot in England and have a proper funeral for Molly. Hermione would bear her child, and she and Bill would raise her. The four remaining Weasley's would keep the family alive.

"I know what to name the baby, Bill." Hermione said softly as they walked back to their flat, slightly behind Harry and Ginny. Fred and George were behind them, already starting to heal the damage a week's worth of intensive torture had done to their minds and souls.

"Anything you want, love," he said, hoping that she wouldn't choose Ron. He loved his baby brother, but he didn't want the child saddled with a such a painful reminder.

"Her name will be Phoenix." He nodded. Ten lions in a pride, he thought. Now, we'll regrow from our own ashes.

"Phoenix it is, then."


End file.
